The Railway Children
by E. Nesbit

5 out of 5 stars

Three siblings embark on a new adventure when they move to a country cottage near the railway. They quickly make friends with the railway employees, and memorize the train schedule. They run to the train track to wave hello to each train that passes, and the commuters begin to watch for them waving their little handkerchiefs every morning. But the railway is also a dangerous place to play. The children must learn the safety rules and signals. However, sometimes they find that they will need to break the rules to save the trains from certain disaster.

I love the old-fashioned charm of this book! It’s such a beautiful story and all the characters are so sweet. Of course, they have days when they are grumpy and they make mistakes too, but they always make it right in the end. I love the way the siblings bicker and fight sometimes, but they also really support and care for each other.

There are a lot of layers to this story. The children have a certain innocent way of looking at the world, but there are hints from the grown-up world around them that all is not as it seems. There is a layer of mystery to what is happening when the grown-ups whisper together about things the children can’t understand.

I am always enchanted with this book!